As she leapt from one of the great tree's branches back onto the second floor walkway, she could only hear her heartbeat in her left ear. The sound will go away again soon. Then Mylo will fill the silence.

Jinx kept racing, fueled by rage at Vi, at herself, at the world. Ekko too, who was staying ahead of her no matter how fast she ran. Not a bad view though. Hoverboarding must target the hamstrings and glutes.

"Aren't you mad at Ekko?" Claggor asked.

"Why? He's not to blame for making Vi hurt her. Just stop being a burden and leave for good instead of ogling Little Man's butt," Mylo taunted.

She channeled her energy on closing the distance, but he managed to keep his lead and enter the room they had been working on the gemstone. Both panting heavily, she glared at him for winning. I might not even be able to beat him in dodge paintball anymore.

"Three things," Ekko directed between breaths.

"I see one stupid Ekko," she held up a middle finger. "I hear one stupid Ekko," she held up her other middle finger. "I feel one stupid Ekko," she grabbed his jacket while he kept his hands up and to the side. "And he's so stupid that he counts as three." I smell him too. How could his sweat be attractive? Stupid sexy Ekko.

As if he was trying to pet a skittish poro, Ekko was slow and gentle in touching her hands. "Please humor me, Jinx. Even if you don't think it helps, it'll make me feel better."

Pushing against him but refusing to let go, Jinx scoffed as she jerked him around. "I should be worrying about how YOU feel?"

He looked at her with remorseful but resilient eyes. Damn, he is almost as good at puppy dog eyes as I am. She exhaled. "I see the note on the table that Caitlyn brought from the Progress guy. I see… the watch your father gave you."

Ekko frowned at her, yet nodded. "I hear the buzz from the Armadillo holding the rock. I hear two kids snooping outside the door who are ABOUT TO LEARN WHY THAT'S A BAD IDEA!" she shouted. There was the sound of little feet scramming away. Ekko's frown faded.

"I feel…" she checked her pockets. "The encoded note Sevika gave me about the favor I owe her. And.." she scratched her head. "The bob–that Vi made for me. But it's hard to not say the cut from where I hit my head or the bruise on my left cheek."

Ekko touched her shoulder with the weight of a feather and when she seemed good with it, went in for a hug. "Better. Should we do another race?"

Her fist struck his back in a playful way. "No. I've lost enough to you today." She paused before recounting again. "I heard her having a night terror. I know how those can be, so I tried to wake her up." Her hand brushed against his forehead. "I'm sorry for hitting and scratching you."

Shrugging, Ekko kept his eyes on hers. "It's healed with the diluted shimmer. You were startled when you came back with me standing over you and weren't yourself."

She shook her head. "The problem is I was being myself. I could've blinded you right eye."

"You were distressed. Understandably so."

"But I didn't even know yet that Vi–" Jinx felt tears building again as her voice trembled. "Vi had left me again. I haven't kept it a secret how that hurts. How it exposes a nerve and brings me to that night and worse."

Ekko tightened his embrace with care. "Vi… Vi is struggling too. She left partly because of, as you said, three times stupid Ekko. But also because that is her mechanism. Her impulse is to try to protect others through violence and we don't know how the shimmer may be amplifying it."

She fights. Ekko builds. Jinx destroys. Or at least I did. "What was everything Scar said again?"

"Vi is alive and well, or at least was. There's the peace conference tomorrow, and Silco wants you there. He wants us to invent with the gemstone soon, because the enforcers may attack as soon as tonight. And there's his idea for delaying them."

Shaking her head, Jinx's tears stopped for now. "The old man must've lost it since I left him. Silco must trust us to care about Vi enough to not leave him out to dry. I… don't know how to feel about him. Especially with both war and peace becoming more likely. And me being responsible for the first one."

His fingers went up to the back of her head. "It's not all on you. And you can help make peace if we figure out the Armadillo."

Ekko is rarely wrong. If he sees the better in me, he's probably right. But Vi won't. Or can't.

"It was scary. That first pulse from the gemstone," she recalled.

Nodding, he brushed a stray hair from her face. "Yes, but I was with you and we worked through it. Like we'll work through this problem. And the ones after that."

Janna. He actually wants me. The genius idiot sees me as more than a childhood friend or enemy turned ally. But doesn't Ekko know what'll happen next? He and Vi say it's not true. So is it safe to desire him back?

"You… you want to be with me?" Her heart felt like it was in her throat now. Part of her wanted to look away; another part wanted to lose herself in the majestic land of his warm brown irises.

"Of course. We have–"

Jinx leaned forward and kissed him on his lips. She was leaning in hard, but in a passionate instead of clumsy way, or so she hoped. He didn't react for the first moments and Jinx felt her heart go from redlining to a screeching stop. It resumed as Ekko returned it.

He still has his hands on my head. Should I grab his? Do I use my tongue? He might be expecting me to, since I started the kiss. Do I ask him? I didn't ask to kiss him, but I read his signs. Or I think I did. It would have been easier if I'd had past boyfriends, but how long would they have lasted with Silco as my guardian?

Ekko slowly stopped returning the kiss and brought his head back. "Jinx, now is not the time."

"Oh." FUCK!

"Let me try again. I want to be with you as an ally, science partner, friend, and yes, your boyfriend. But we should be extra careful about the last one, because it would be awful if I made your healing worse or if one of us was using the other when they weren't in a state to agree."

Jinx's face was red from a mixture of bruising, excitement, and now embarrassment. "I'm sorry. It's just… I thought I was better. That you and Vi had made me better."

Ekko leaned forward and brought their foreheads together. "You've already come far, but we should still take it slow. And it is not me, Vi, or anyone else that is responsible for your progress, except you. We can only help you or hinder you in not acting harmfully but using… what's that word? Sublimation."

Grinning, Jinx brought her head back a little. "I don't know. Necking with you could be sublime."

Ekko chuckled. "When you put negative thoughts or feelings into positive action. Like, instead of getting revenge for someone setting your home on fire, you organize a group to put it out before it can spread to others homes."

"I see. Though it… that is it!" She broke his hug and ran to the notebook. Ekko followed her in puzzlement.

"Fire will help? Or organizing the runes differently?"

Jinx shook her head; her fingers were jittery with excitement. "No, no. Sublimation. Transformation where the liquid transition is skipped," she explained.

Ekko looked like he was on firmer ground. "All that is solid melts into air… but how does that help us?"

The pages were flipping fast as she continued her search and then she almost squealed when she found her target. "We were looking for a way to draw energy from the gemstone to make the Armadillo Territory Field. But we can use the gemstone directly to do it."

Ekko looked at the different devices they had modeled and prototyped over the hours. "So all that work was a waste?"

Jinx shook her head. "No, silly billy. Some can be modified to help us amplify its range as will the notes Tallis' assistant Sky made. One device will allow for desired penetration." She held up an admonishing finger at him. "Don't giggle. We also learned how to use the runes to interact with the gemstone. We are farther along than we thought. We should be able to finish this… by the witching hour. Maybe less without distractions."

The sounds of someone rushing on their hoverboard and jumping down were easily picked up on by the seasoned sump snipes. Ekko sighed and headed to the door. Jinx tittered. "Well, at least they aren't interrupting us making out."

The quick knocks were answered abruptly enough for Eve to stumble forward on the last one. "Sorry, but we have a visitor at the door. Alone and non-hostile, but intimidating."

Ekko glanced back at his new girlfriend without benefits. "I'll be back soon. You're better with the runes anyway."

"Actually, he was insistent she meet with him," Eve said.

Jinx grabbed Ekko's hoverboard and tossed it down. "I'd prefer to stay with you anyway."

They went to the main entrance and saw a small crowd gathering. Jinx sprinted ahead. "Did Sevika come here to ask for her favor in person and discuss the meeting? Is Jayce Tallis following up on his note?

She worked her way through the crowd and gasped. My brain is lying to me again. I saw him die.

"Good to find you, little one. I had your scent."

Jinx blinked at the large figure before stepping closer to touch him. "Are you real?"